Saxophone Forum


by tdacton
(2 posts)
16 years ago

Conn Shooting Star - Age, Seri

I have just purchased a Sax fo

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  1. by thelittlemarchingone
    (50 posts)

    16 years ago

    Re: Conn Shooting Star - Age, Serial Number, mfg site and quality questions

    Hey there, Hate to break it to you, but this is one of the lower quality Conn horns. These weren't made in New Mexico, they were made in Nogales, Mexico. These horns tend to be really flimsy, they tend to break easily and the sound quality is not so great in comparison to the other Conn's. I wouldn't invest so much in cleaning it up, you'd be probably better off investing in a quality student Yamaha or Bundy II sax. But I'm no expert, you're best bet is to talk to your child's band director as I'm sure he could recommend some good horns, and hopefully some places to go. Good luck! :)

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    1. by connsaxman_jim
      (2336 posts)

      16 years ago

      Re: Conn Shooting Star - Age, Serial Number, mfg site and quality questions

      The Conn company was sold in 1969 to MacMillan, a book publishing company. Prior to the sale, Conn aquired the Best Instrument Manufacturing company in Nogales, Arizona, where they had originally planned to expand production of instruments other than horns. Unfortunately due to financial problems, this never happened. The quality quickly went down-hill after the MacMillan buyout. If you follow most of the Conn Serial number charts, N marks the year 1970, and most charts are very vague from that point until Conn was purchased again by Daniel Henkin in 1980. Apparemtly under MacMillan's ownership, the letter "N" prefix was used more than one year. The earlier horns that bare the "N" prefix that are NOT stamped Mexico are most likely made in Nogales, AZ. IF the horn IS stamped Mexico, then it was most likely made sometime between 1972 and 1980, and was made in Mexico. As for the quality of the Mexican made Conn horns, they were not the greatest, but when you compare them to some of the junk student horns that are made today, they weren't so terrible. Not a horn that I would recommend, but if the price is right and the horn is in good playing condition, enjoy it as long as you can, or until you have the means to replace it. Jim

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      1. by tdacton
        (2 posts)

        16 years ago

        Re: Conn Shooting Star - Age, Serial Number, mfg site and quality questions

        Thank you for your posts and knowledge. I was able to sell this horn to an 8th grade student that is very happy about getting the horn. I sold it for 100.00. I have bought my 7th grader a Selmer Bundy II for just a little bit more than I sold the Conn for. Troy

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    2. by Saxesofevil
      (24 posts)

      16 years ago

      Re: Conn Shooting Star - Age, Serial Number, mfg site and quality questions

      I have a conn Shooting star 16m and it sounds awesome. It was made in america b4 conn stopped production in usa in the 60s

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